The Rest is History
by Techno.Sonata
Summary: Damian is having trouble with History, so he goes to his father for help. Drabble. Fluff.


Damian Wayne stood outside of his fathers office. In his left hand was a pencil that he clenched so tightly he heard it crack. In the right hand was a pristine notebook and some paper on top of it. His face was burning and he had never felt so nervous to talk to his father in the time he'd lived with him. With hesitation, he knocked on the door and invited himself in.

Bruce was staring intently down at paper work he'd managed to put off for weeks, mostly because of the batman gig, and they were needed for signing by the next day. He didn't even blink when his son walked into the room. He stayed silent and scribbled his signature where it was needed.

Damian walked closer and closer. With each step he began to breathe slower and quieter, almost feeling that even his most basic bodily functions were considered irritating. He stopped at his fathers desk and cleared his throat. Bruce did not look up, but instead grunted in response.

"Umm Father... I was um..." He bit his tongue. What was wrong with him? He was born with the ability to speak in front of people. His father was Bruce Wayne! Heck, he was /speaking/ to his father, not some stranger! Why was he having trouble?

"Damian what is it?" Bruce asked harshly, still staring intently at an interview request from /The Daily Planet/, and signing his name and checking boxes every so often.

"I require..." Damian grew silent again. He didn't know how to word himself. He had a weakness and he wanted to word it without showing it. A strange lumpy feeling grew in his throat. It was unfamiliar to him. "I need help!" He blurted out suddenly, getting rid of the lump in his throat, but getting a strange, almost anxious feeling in his stomach. His lungs didn't seem to work properly.

Bruce looked up from his paper work and raised an eyebrow. "You need help? With what?" The father asked, surprised at Damians moment of weakness. His son looked like he was about to have a full blown panic attack. Was Bruce really that intimidating?

Damian felt his face flush. "I um... I need help with my homework," he said, embarrassed. "Pennyworth refuses to help me with History and I can't quite seem to grasp the American view of world history. Rather, Pennyworth, Drake, and Grayson seem to believe I cannot grasp World History. It's something that I was not fully taught as a child."

Bruce was slightly taken aback by this. Damian not grasping the concept of something in his schooling? That was unusual. He usually excelled on school as a whole, but he'd never noticed his son didn't comprehend history. "Well can I see your homework?"

Damian nodded and handed the marked paper to his father. The sheet was covered in red x's and red words from Alfred.

Bruce looked it over and couldnt help but to chuckle at some of the answers. "The Persian empire did not fall to the Army's of R'as Al Ghul," he noted. He continued looking over the paper. "The answer to 'Who was the fierce leader of the Ottoman Empire' is not 'A coward that was picked by, and turned out to be a disgrace to R'as Al Ghul." He couldnt help but to laugh at this one. "And 'Mother' is not the answer to... Well any of the questions you replied with mother." He pulled up a chair beside him and Damian sat down in it.

"Well, when I learned history, I was fed information as to how Grandfather had a hand in it. As well as Vandal Savage, but Grandfather did not speak all to highly of him," Damian explained to his father.

Bruce shook his head. "Maybe that stuff happened,and perhaps your right..."

"My knowledge and answers are always right," Damian interjected.

"Perhaps your right," Bruce said louder, acting as of he hadn't been interrupted. "But the public school systems of the world don't teach this. They teach an overview basically. The names of Al Ghul and Savage are perhaps somewhere in there from long ago, but history does not revolve around them."

"Yes it does," Damian replied stubbornly. "Grandfather..."

"No it does not," Bruce replied, growing impatient. "I guess we have to start from square on with you. The Mesopotamian empires, the ancient Greeks and the beginning of Persia. Promise that you'll keep an open mind and you'll learn the unbiased view of History." Damian nodded slowly. "And I promise, you'll get the hang of this history thing in no time"

And sure enough Damian hadn't learned nearly as much in his entire life than he had that day when his father had taught him about the history of the world. He wouldn't have learned a thing with anyone else, but he wouldnt have it any other way.


End file.
